Richard Childress never got to the point where he hated coming to the race track, but there were times in the past five years when he rather would have been hunting or fishing.

Since his longtime driver and friend Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500, Richard Childress Racing, once considered one of the elite teams in NASCAR, has struggled just to be competitive.

"I hated seeing the faces in the race shop," said Childress, who won six championships with Earnhardt as his driver. "Nobody was smiling.

"We just couldn't find the right combination of people and equipment. It was tough on everybody on our team because we were used to winning races and winning championships and, all of a sudden, it wasn't happening."

For the first two years of NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, RCR was little more than an observer, with Kevin Harvick, the team's marquis driver, failing to qualify for the 10-man, 10-race playoff.

But thanks to some major personnel moves within the team, a lot of determination and a renewed excitement, it looks like RCR is back.

Heading into Sunday's race in Pocono, just seven races from the start of the Chase, Burton is third in the points and Kevin Harvick is eighth. Even rookie Clint Bowyer is having a solid season and is 16th in the standings.

"You've always got to be happy when you make any kind of progress," Childress said. "We know we've got a lot more we've got to accomplish to get the teams and the cars to where we want to be to win consistently and be in the top five consistently. And that's what you've got to have to run for a championship.

"But the improvements alone that we've made in our aero programs, our engines, our cars, our chassis, personnel, it's been a pleasure to sit back and watch all these guys and ladies do their jobs and get these teams up and running. And the smiles are a lot bigger. So it's fun."